91-639: Peak Practice was a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It originally starred Kevin Whately as Dr Jack Kerruish, Amanda Burton as Dr Beth Glover and Simon Shepherd as Dr Will Preston, though the roster of doctors would change many times over the course of the series. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and
182-484: A Greek word meaning "deed" or " act " ( Classical Greek : δρᾶμα , drâma ), which is derived from "I do" ( Classical Greek : δράω , dráō ). The two masks associated with drama represent the traditional generic division between comedy and tragedy . In English (as was the analogous case in many other European languages), the word play or game (translating the Anglo-Saxon pleġan or Latin ludus )
273-408: A stage before an audience , presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective form of reception. The structure of dramatic texts , unlike other forms of literature , is directly influenced by this collaborative production and collective reception. Mime is a form of drama where the action of a story is told only through the movement of the body. Drama can be combined with music :
364-471: A brakeman "spragging" the wheels of the wagons, which were returned to the summit by horses. However, in 1812 the incline was the scene of a remarkable experiment, when William Brunton, an engineer for the company, produced his Steam Horse locomotive . In 1840 George Stephenson , in building the North Midland Railway , discovered deposits of coal at Clay Cross and formed what later became
455-681: A campaign and blockades by villagers in the Crich and District Environment Action Group, dumping ceased in 2002. In 2004 the Government backed an Environment Agency document banning further dumping, and Rolls-Royce will be required to restore and landscape the site. The memorial tower ('Crich Stand') was completed in 1923 as a memorial to the 11,409 soldiers from the Sherwood Foresters Regiment who died in World War I ,
546-427: A child that is not his and Andrew and Erica continue to dance around the idea of having a relationship. Will's friends ignore his professional advice; Sam invests in a controversial new drug; and Will clashes with ex-wife Kate over an alcoholic patient. Tom is involved in a climbing accident; new nurse Claire (Eva Pope) wastes little time in making her presence felt at the practice; and a deadly epidemic puts strain on
637-481: A clinic out there and he is left to look after The Beeches. He is also hit by the news that Sarah is remarrying and taking Tony and Julien to live in America. Andrew continues to work at The Beeches and is joined by his wife Kirsty. She tries hard to settle into Cardale life but the pair have their problems and Kirsty returns to Liverpool. Dr Erica Matthews arrives as a locum and is instantly attracted to Will. They share
728-431: A day on the golf course to a full day's surgery. After initial tensions and despite Will's concerns, Beth invites Jack to be a partner at the practice. Jack and Beth share an instant chemistry and after several misunderstandings they finally get together towards the end of Series 1. Will on the other hand faces marital problems with his wife Sarah. He is broken when he discovers she has been having an affair with Daniel Acres,
819-407: A dedication that was later extended to include World War II . It was built on an limestone outcrop above the village, at an altitude of 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level. The location is symbolic because it is widely visible across, and gives views of, both of the two counties from which the regiment was raised ( Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire ). It is the destination of an annual pilgrimage on
910-488: A doctor from the rival health centre. Pressure to keep her and their two children, Tony and Julien, in a posh house results in Will committing a fraudulent drugs trial. When his scam is revealed, Sarah threatens to leave him, and in turn Will has a nervous breakdown. Meanwhile, after years of trying for a baby, landlords of the local pub Chloe and James White have a daughter named Sarah-Jane. Jack and Beth have grown closer during
1001-575: A fate of life or death without the need of the authority of the King or his sheriff. Morcar was given further lands in Derbyshire. Weston (and Crich?) again come under the control of Æþelræd Unræd, when Morcar and his brother were murdered by Eadric in 1015. Parts of the Church of England parish church of Saint Mary are Norman , with later Decorated Gothic and Perpendicular Gothic alterations from
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#17328007590211092-598: A hundred million. The self-contained nature of Bhramyoman, with all equipment and even the stage being carried by the troop itself, allows staging shows even in remote villages, giving wider reach. Pioneers of this industry include Achyut Lahkar and Brajanath Sarma . Rabindranath Tagore was a pioneering modern playwright who wrote plays noted for their exploration and questioning of nationalism, identity, spiritualism and material greed. His plays are written in Bengali and include Chitra ( Chitrangada , 1892), The King of
1183-451: A kiss but he develops a friendship with Dr Kate Webster from a rival practice. Their relationship becomes serious and Will tries his hardest to play Dad to Kate's son Charlie. Andrew struggles to cope without Kirsty and is unaware when a patient falls for him. When he knocks her back, she makes a complaint against him and Andrew turns to Erica for comfort. They spend the night together but Andrew soon regrets it when Kirsty returns to Cardale. He
1274-541: A late "hybrid morality" and one of the earliest examples of an English revenge play , brings together the classical story of Orestes with a Vice from the medieval allegorical tradition, alternating comic, slapstick scenes with serious, tragic ones. Also important in this period were the folk dramas of the Mummers Play , performed during the Christmas season. Court masques were particularly popular during
1365-697: A more conservative development over a somewhat longer period of time. Pantomime (informally "panto"), is a type of musical comedy stage production, designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is still performed throughout the United Kingdom, generally during the Christmas and New Year season and, to a lesser extent, in other English-speaking countries. Modern pantomime includes songs, gags, slapstick comedy and dancing, employs gender-crossing actors, and combines topical humour with
1456-672: A small fraction of the work of five dramatists, however, has survived to this day: we have a small number of complete texts by the tragedians Aeschylus , Sophocles and Euripides , and the comic writers Aristophanes and, from the late 4th century, Menander . Aeschylus' historical tragedy The Persians is the oldest surviving drama, although when it won first prize at the City Dionysia competition in 472 BC, he had been writing plays for more than 25 years. The competition (" agon ") for tragedies may have begun as early as 534 BC; official records (" didaskaliai ") begin from 501 BC when
1547-572: A small inlier of Carboniferous limestone (an outcrop on the edge of the Peak District surrounded by younger Upper Carboniferous rocks). Quarrying for limestone probably began in Roman times. In 1791 Benjamin Outram and Samuel Beresford bought land for a quarry to supply limestone to their new ironworks at Butterley . This became known as Hilt's Quarry, and the stone was transported down
1638-578: A sophisticated presentation of contrasting human behaviour. No early Roman tragedy survives, though it was highly regarded in its day; historians know of three early tragedians— Quintus Ennius , Marcus Pacuvius , and Lucius Accius . From the time of the empire, the work of two tragedians survives—one is an unknown author, while the other is the Stoic philosopher Seneca . Nine of Seneca's tragedies survive, all of which are fabula crepidata (tragedies adapted from Greek originals); his Phaedra , for example,
1729-631: A steep wagonway , the Butterley Company Gangroad , to the Cromford Canal at Bullbridge . Near there they also built lime kilns for supplying farmers and for the increasing amount of building work. Apart from a period when it was leased to Albert Banks, the quarry and kilns were operated by the Butterley Company until 1933. The gangroad, descending some 300 feet in about a mile, was at first worked by gravity,
1820-428: A story loosely based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or folk tale . It is a participatory form of theatre, in which the audience is expected to sing along with certain parts of the music and shout out phrases to the performers. Part of the appeal of amateur dramatics pantomime productions is seeing well-known local figures on stage. These stories follow in the tradition of fables and folk tales . Usually, there
1911-542: A story", Dance movements in ballet "are often closely related to everyday forms of physical expression, [so that] there is an expressive quality inherent in nearly all dancing", and this is used to convey both action and emotions; mime is also used. Examples include Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 's Swan Lake , which tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse, Sergei Prokofiev 's ballet Romeo and Juliet , based on Shakespeare's famous play, and Igor Stravinsky 's Petrushka , which tells
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#17328007590212002-459: A very common character in Restoration comedy). The single play that does most to support the charge of obscenity levelled then and now at Restoration comedy is probably Wycherley's masterpiece The Country Wife (1675), whose title contains a lewd pun and whose notorious "china scene" is a series of sustained double entendres . During the second wave of Restoration comedy in the 1690s,
2093-412: Is A Treatise on Theatre ( Nātyaśāstra ), a compendium whose date of composition is uncertain (estimates range from 200 BC to 200 AD) and whose authorship is attributed to Bharata Muni . The Treatise is the most complete work of dramaturgy in the ancient world. It addresses acting , dance , music , dramatic construction , architecture, costuming , make-up , props , the organisation of companies,
2184-545: Is a dramatic art form that arose during the Renaissance in an attempt to revive the classical Greek drama in which dialogue, dance, and song were combined. Being strongly intertwined with western classical music , the opera has undergone enormous changes in the past four centuries and it is an important form of theatre until this day. Noteworthy is the major influence of the German 19th-century composer Richard Wagner on
2275-404: Is a lesson learned, and with some help from the audience, the hero/heroine saves the day. This kind of play uses stock characters seen in masque and again commedia dell'arte , these characters include the villain (doctore), the clown/servant (Arlechino/Harlequin/buttons), the lovers etc. These plays usually have an emphasis on moral dilemmas , and good always triumphs over evil, this kind of play
2366-415: Is a serious dramatic form that combines drama, music, and dance into a complete aesthetic performance experience. It developed in the 14th and 15th centuries and has its own musical instruments and performance techniques, which were often handed down from father to son. The performers were generally male (for both male and female roles), although female amateurs also perform Nō dramas. Nō drama was supported by
2457-462: Is also very entertaining making it a very effective way of reaching many people. Pantomime has a long theatrical history in Western culture dating back to classical theatre. It developed partly from the 16th century commedia dell'arte tradition of Italy, as well as other European and British stage traditions, such as 17th-century masques and music hall . An important part of the pantomime, until
2548-419: Is diagnosed with Hodgkins disease and faces a tough regime of treatment. Mid series, and Jack and Beth both contend with lovers from their past returning to their lives. After a near-death situation, Beth realises she wants to spend her life with Jack and proposes to him. As Jack and Beth marry, Sarah leaves Will and he once again hits rock bottom. Meanwhile, Chloe gets the good news that she is in remission and as
2639-682: Is home to the National Tramway Museum and, at the summit of Crich Hill above, a memorial tower for those of the Sherwood Foresters regiment who died in battle, particularly in World War I . In 1009 King Æthelred the Unready signed a charter at the Great Council which recognised the position and boundaries of Weston-on-Trent and several other manors including Crich. The charter shows that Weston controlled
2730-511: Is honest with her and they decide to move back to Liverpool. Chloe and James become foster parents and she continues to remain in remission. At the end of the series, Kate finds out she is pregnant and despite booking in for a termination, she changes her mind and she and Will decide to settle down together. Erica buys an old cottage and lays her roots in Cardale, and realising they have grown apart, Kirsty decides to return to Liverpool without Andrew. Dr David Shearer arrives in Cardale to help out at
2821-509: Is sick and their worst fears are realised when Emily is diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. A clinic in Bristol offers Emily a place on their programme, resulting in Will and Kate leaving Cardale. Before they go, they get married and leave the Beeches in the hands of Andrew, Erica and David. David faces torment when Claire is diagnosed with manic depression, Andrew is rocked when Kirsty arrives with
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2912-605: Is the Easter trope Whom do you Seek? (Quem-Quaeritis) ( c. 925 ). Two groups would sing responsively in Latin , though no impersonation of characters was involved. By the 11th century, it had spread through Europe to Russia , Scandinavia , and Italy ; excluding Islamic-era Spain . In the 10th century, Hrosvitha wrote six plays in Latin modeled on Terence 's comedies, but which treated religious subjects. Her plays are
3003-424: Is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance : a play , opera , mime , ballet , etc., performed in a theatre , or on radio or television . Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been contrasted with the epic and the lyrical modes ever since Aristotle 's Poetics ( c. 335 BC )—the earliest work of dramatic theory . The term "drama" comes from
3094-435: Is this narrower sense that the film and television industries, along with film studies , adopted to describe " drama " as a genre within their respective media. The term " radio drama " has been used in both senses—originally transmitted in a live performance. It may also be used to refer to the more high-brow and serious end of the dramatic output of radio . The enactment of drama in theatre , performed by actors on
3185-469: Is used as a synonym of Restoration comedy. After public theatre had been banned by the Puritan regime, the re-opening of the theatres in 1660 with the Restoration of Charles II signalled a renaissance of English drama . Restoration comedy is known for its sexual explicitness, urbane, cosmopolitan wit , up-to-the-minute topical writing, and crowded and bustling plots. Its dramatists stole freely from
3276-574: The Clay Cross Company . He realised that burning lime would provide a use for the coal slack that would otherwise go to waste. He leased Cliff Quarry and built limekilns at Bullbridge. In 1841, he built the Crich Mineral Railway to connect the quarry to the limekilns at Ambergate station . This included a 550 yards (500 m) long, self-acting incline known as "The Steep", with a maximum gradient of 1 in 5. The railway
3367-528: The Takarazuka Revue . Crich Crich / ˈ k r aɪ tʃ / is a village and civil parish in the English county of Derbyshire . Besides the village of Crich, the civil parish includes the nearby villages of Fritchley , Whatstandwell and Wheatcroft . The population of the civil parish at the 2001 census was 2,821, increasing to 2,898 at the 2011 census. The village
3458-495: The period of colonial rule under the British Empire , from the mid-19th century until the mid-20th. The earliest-surviving fragments of Sanskrit drama date from the 1st century AD. The wealth of archeological evidence from earlier periods offers no indication of the existence of a tradition of theatre. The ancient Vedas ( hymns from between 1500 and 1000 BC that are among the earliest examples of literature in
3549-438: The satyr play was introduced. Tragic dramatists were required to present a tetralogy of plays (though the individual works were not necessarily connected by story or theme), which usually consisted of three tragedies and one satyr play (though exceptions were made, as with Euripides' Alcestis in 438 BC). Comedy was officially recognized with a prize in the competition from 487 to 486 BC. Five comic dramatists competed at
3640-554: The "softer" comedies of William Congreve and John Vanbrugh set out to appeal to more socially diverse audience with a strong middle-class element, as well as to female spectators. The comic focus shifts from young lovers outwitting the older generation to the vicissitudes of marital relations. In Congreve's Love for Love (1695) and The Way of the World (1700), the give-and-take set pieces of couples testing their attraction for one another have mutated into witty prenuptial debates on
3731-524: The 14th century. Crich has also a Wesleyan Chapel that was built in 1770. A workhouse was opened in 1734 on the edge of Nether Common. It could accommodate 40 inmates, and accepted paupers from other parishes, including Melbourne , Pentrich , Willington , Mercaston and Denby . Chase Cliffe is a Tudor Revival house on the road from Crich to Whatstandwell . It was designed by Benjamin Ferrey and built in 1859–61. Geologically, Crich lies on
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3822-433: The 15th to the 19th centuries. The Bhakti movement was influential in performances in several regions. Apart from regional languages, Assam saw the rise of Vaishnavite drama in an artificially mixed literary language called Brajavali . A distinct form of one-act plays called Ankia Naat developed in the works of Sankardev , a particular presentation of which is called Bhaona . Modern Indian theatre developed during
3913-513: The Beeches. It was based in the Derbyshire village of Crich , although certain scenes were filmed at other nearby Derbyshire towns and villages, most notably Fritchley , Matlock , Belper , Duffield and Ashover . In the final series it was filmed in Staffordshire in the village of Longnor. Series 1–7 have been released on DVD. In Australia, Series 8 – 12 was released on 19 June 2024 by Via Vision Entertainment. Drama Drama
4004-439: The Beeches. He is an old friend of Beth and Will's and covers the absence of Andrew, who went missing after his split with Kirsty. David's wife Clare and their children Emma and Tom join him in Cardale and he quickly settles back into country life. Much to the annoyance of Andrew, who returns looking for another chance from Will and Erica. Kate gives birth to a baby girl named Emily. However, she and Will soon find out that their baby
4095-645: The City Dionysia (though during the Peloponnesian War this may have been reduced to three), each offering a single comedy. Ancient Greek comedy is traditionally divided between "old comedy" (5th century BC), "middle comedy" (4th century BC) and "new comedy" (late 4th century to 2nd BC). Following the expansion of the Roman Republic (527–509 BC) into several Greek territories between 270 and 240 BC, Rome encountered Greek drama . From
4186-552: The Dark Chamber ( Raja , 1910), The Post Office ( Dakghar , 1913), and Red Oleander ( Raktakarabi , 1924). Girish Karnad is a noted playwright, who has written a number of plays that use history and mythology, to critique and problematize ideas and ideals that are of contemporary relevance. Karnad's numerous plays such as Tughlaq , Hayavadana , Taledanda , and Naga-Mandala are significant contributions to Indian drama. Vijay Tendulkar and Mahesh Dattani are amongst
4277-760: The Girl ( c. 1300 ), one of the earliest known in English, seems to be the closest in tone and form to the contemporaneous French farces , such as The Boy and the Blind Man . Many plays survive from France and Germany in the late Middle Ages , when some type of religious drama was performed in nearly every European country. Many of these plays contained comedy , devils , villains , and clowns . In England, trade guilds began to perform vernacular " mystery plays ", which were composed of long cycles of many playlets or "pageants", of which four are extant : York (48 plays), Chester (24), Wakefield (32) and
4368-465: The Greek originals, the Roman comic dramatists abolished the role of the chorus in dividing the drama into episodes and introduced musical accompaniment to its dialogue (between one-third of the dialogue in the comedies of Plautus and two-thirds in those of Terence). The action of all scenes is set in the exterior location of a street and its complications often follow from eavesdropping . Plautus,
4459-484: The atmosphere at Court and celebrated with frankness an aristocratic macho lifestyle of unremitting sexual intrigue and conquest. The Earl of Rochester , real-life Restoration rake, courtier and poet, is flatteringly portrayed in Etherege's The Man of Mode (1676) as a riotous, witty, intellectual, and sexually irresistible aristocrat, a template for posterity's idea of the glamorous Restoration rake (actually never
4550-898: The audience, competitions, and offers a mythological account of the origin of theatre. Its drama is regarded as the highest achievement of Sanskrit literature . It utilised stock characters , such as the hero ( nayaka ), heroine ( nayika ), or clown ( vidusaka ). Actors may have specialised in a particular type. It was patronized by the kings as well as village assemblies. Famous early playwrights include Bhasa , Kalidasa (famous for Urvashi, Won by Valour , Malavika and Agnimitra , and The Recognition of Shakuntala ), Śudraka (famous for The Little Clay Cart ), Asvaghosa , Daṇḍin , and Emperor Harsha (famous for Nagananda , Ratnavali , and Priyadarsika ). Śakuntalā (in English translation) influenced Goethe's Faust (1808–1832). A distinct form of theatre has developed in India where
4641-519: The baby. The Beeches take on trainee GP Andrew Attwood ( Gary Mavers ) and he moves into the pub whilst completing his exams. Andrew makes Will feel unsettled at the Beeches and he decides to take a job in an inner-city practice. Beth too is looking for a change and finds it hard to shake off her miscarriage. After Will decides to stay on at the Beeches, Jack and Beth decide to take a 6-month sabbatical to Africa. A year on, and Jack and Beth have still not returned from Africa. They tell Will they wish to open
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#17328007590214732-433: The beginning of the empire, however, interest in full-length drama declined in favour of a broader variety of theatrical entertainments. The first important works of Roman literature were the tragedies and comedies that Livius Andronicus wrote from 240 BC. Five years later, Gnaeus Naevius also began to write drama. No plays from either writer have survived. While both dramatists composed in both genres , Andronicus
4823-424: The contemporary French and Spanish stage, from English Jacobean and Caroline plays, and even from Greek and Roman classical comedies, combining the various plotlines in adventurous ways. Resulting differences of tone in a single play were appreciated rather than frowned on, as the audience prized "variety" within as well as between plays. Restoration comedy peaked twice. The genre came to spectacular maturity in
4914-463: The drama does not pre-exist the moment of performance; performers devise a dramatic script spontaneously before an audience. Western drama originates in classical Greece . The theatrical culture of the city-state of Athens produced three genres of drama: tragedy , comedy , and the satyr play . Their origins remain obscure, though by the 5th century BC, they were institutionalised in competitions held as part of festivities celebrating
5005-520: The drama of exemplary morality. The pivotal and innovative contributions of the 19th-century Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen and the 20th-century German theatre practitioner Bertolt Brecht dominate modern drama; each inspired a tradition of imitators, which include many of the greatest playwrights of the modern era. The works of both playwrights are, in their different ways, both modernist and realist , incorporating formal experimentation , meta-theatricality , and social critique . In terms of
5096-453: The dramatic text in opera is generally sung throughout; as for in some ballets dance "expresses or imitates emotion, character, and narrative action." Musicals include both spoken dialogue and songs ; and some forms of drama have incidental music or musical accompaniment underscoring the dialogue ( melodrama and Japanese Nō , for example). Closet drama is a form that is intended to be read, rather than performed. In improvisation ,
5187-446: The early Elizabethan era in England. Characters were often used to represent different ethical ideals. Everyman , for example, includes such figures as Good Deeds, Knowledge and Strength, and this characterisation reinforces the conflict between good and evil for the audience. The Castle of Perseverance ( c. 1400 –1425) depicts an archetypal figure's progress from birth through to death. Horestes ( c. 1567 ),
5278-413: The early nineteenth century Paris , Jean-Gaspard Deburau solidified the many attributes that we have come to know in modern times, including the silent figure in whiteface. Jacques Copeau , strongly influenced by Commedia dell'arte and Japanese Noh theatre, used masks in the training of his actors. Étienne Decroux , a pupil of his, was highly influenced by this and started exploring and developing
5369-514: The entire crew travels performing plays from place to place, with makeshift stages and equipment, particularly in the eastern parts of the country. Jatra ( Bengali for "travel"), originating in the Vaishnavite movement of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Bengal , is a tradition that follows this format. Vaishnavite plays in the neighbouring state of Assam, pioneered by Srimanta Sankardeva , takes
5460-402: The eve of marriage, as in the latter's famous "Proviso" scene. Vanbrugh's The Provoked Wife (1697) has a light touch and more humanly recognisable characters, while The Relapse (1696) has been admired for its throwaway wit and the characterisation of Lord Foppington, an extravagant and affected burlesque fop with a dark side. The tolerance for Restoration comedy even in its modified form
5551-781: The first Sunday in July. Besides the main dedication, two further plaques dedicate the memorial to those who died serving in the Sherwood Foresters regiment from 1945 to 1970, and to those who died serving the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment from 1970 to 2007 and the Mercian Regiment since 2007. A nearby small plaque is dedicated to Brigadier J.H.M. Hackett, 'Last Colonel The Sherwood Foresters 1965 – 1970 and First Colonel The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment'. Beneath Crich Stand, at
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#17328007590215642-522: The first known to be composed by a female dramatist and the first identifiable Western drama of the post-Classical era. Later, Hildegard of Bingen wrote a musical drama, Ordo Virtutum ( c. 1155 ). One of the most famous of the early secular plays is the courtly pastoral Robin and Marion , written in the 13th century in French by Adam de la Halle . The Interlude of the Student and
5733-535: The forms of Ankia Naat and Bhaona . These, along with Western influences, have inspired the development of modern mobile theatre, known in Assamese as Bhramyoman , in Assam. Modern Bhramyoman stages everything from Hindu mythology to adaptations of Western classics and Hollywood movies , and make use of modern techniques, such as live visual effects. Assamese mobile theatre is estimated to be an industry worth
5824-456: The god Dionysus . Historians know the names of many ancient Greek dramatists, not least Thespis , who is credited with the innovation of an actor (" hypokrites ") who speaks (rather than sings) and impersonates a character (rather than speaking in his own person), while interacting with the chorus and its leader (" coryphaeus "), who were a traditional part of the performance of non-dramatic poetry ( dithyrambic , lyric and epic ). Only
5915-635: The government, and particularly the military, with many military commanders having their own troupes and sometimes performing themselves. It is still performed in Japan today. Kyōgen is the comic counterpart to Nō drama. It concentrates more on dialogue and less on music, although Nō instrumentalists sometimes appear also in Kyōgen. Kabuki drama, developed from the 17th century, is another comic form, which includes dance. Modern theatrical and musical drama has also developed in Japan in forms such as shingeki and
6006-641: The late 19th century, was the harlequinade . Outside Britain the word "pantomime" is usually used to mean miming , rather than the theatrical form discussed here. Mime is a theatrical medium where the action of a story is told through the movement of the body, without the use of speech. Performance of mime occurred in Ancient Greece , and the word is taken from a single masked dancer called Pantomimus , although their performances were not necessarily silent. In Medieval Europe, early forms of mime, such as mummer plays and later dumbshows , evolved. In
6097-527: The later years of the republic and by means of the Roman Empire (27 BC–476 AD), theatre spread west across Europe, around the Mediterranean and reached England; Roman theatre was more varied, extensive and sophisticated than that of any culture before it. While Greek drama continued to be performed throughout the Roman period, the year 240 BC marks the beginning of regular Roman drama . From
6188-510: The lives of past kings, enhancing the image of the Tudor monarchy. Authors of this period drew some of their storylines from Greek mythology and Roman mythology or from the plays of eminent Roman playwrights such as Plautus and Terence . Restoration comedy refers to English comedies written and performed in England during the Restoration period from 1660 to 1710. Comedy of manners
6279-672: The major Indian playwrights of the 20th century. Mohan Rakesh in Hindi and Danish Iqbal in Urdu are considered architects of new age Drama. Mohan Rakesh's Aadhe Adhoore and Danish Iqbal's Dara Shikoh are considered modern classics. Chinese theatre has a long and complex history. Today it is often called Chinese opera although this normally refers specifically to the popular form known as Beijing opera and Kunqu ; there have been many other forms of theatre in China, such as zaju . Japanese Nō drama
6370-543: The mid-1670s with an extravaganza of aristocratic comedies. Twenty lean years followed this short golden age, although the achievement of the first professional female playwright, Aphra Behn , in the 1680s is an important exception. In the mid-1690s, a brief second Restoration comedy renaissance arose, aimed at a wider audience. The comedies of the golden 1670s and 1690s peak times are significantly different from each other. The unsentimental or "hard" comedies of John Dryden , William Wycherley , and George Etherege reflected
6461-438: The more popular of the two, wrote between 205 and 184 BC and twenty of his comedies survive, of which his farces are best known; he was admired for the wit of his dialogue and his use of a variety of poetic meters . All of the six comedies that Terence wrote between 166 and 160 BC have survived; the complexity of his plots, in which he often combined several Greek originals, was sometimes denounced, but his double-plots enabled
6552-526: The museum's collection of trams are operational, and carry passengers on journeys through the period street and out into the local countryside on a 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) long running track. Along the way are the preserved 1763 facade of the Derby Assembly Rooms , a recreated Victorian public park, a woodland sculpture trail and a display on the local lead mining industry. A collection of title deeds relating to land and property in Crich
6643-522: The nearby crossings of the Trent. The land was listed as eight hides at Weston upon Trent, and a hide at Crich, Morley , Smalley , Ingleby and Kidsley. This land was then given to Morcar , the King's chief minister, and he was unusually given rights that were normally reserved for the King alone. He was given the responsibility for justice and exemption from the Trinoda necessitas , he alone could decide
6734-529: The northern end of Crich village, is the National Tramway Museum (also known as Crich Tramway Village) which is the UK's largest and most comprehensive museum of trams and tramways . The museum contains over 80 trams built between 1873 and 1982 and includes several exhibitions and a recreated period street containing a working pub, cafe, shop and various pieces of period street furniture. Many of
6825-414: The opera tradition. In his view, there was no proper balance between music and theatre in the operas of his time, because the music seemed to be more important than the dramatic aspects in these works. To restore the connection with the classical drama, he entirely renewed the operatic form to emphasize the equal importance of music and drama in works that he called " music dramas ". Chinese opera has seen
6916-476: The possibilities of mime and refined corporeal mime into a highly sculptural form, taking it outside of the realms of naturalism . Jacques Lecoq contributed significantly to the development of mime and physical theatre with his training methods. While some ballet emphasises "the lines and patterns of movement itself" dramatic dance "expresses or imitates emotion, character, and narrative action". Such ballets are theatrical works that have characters and "tell
7007-452: The practice for a few months. Will and Sarah divorce but find it hard to lead separate lives. On several occasions, they almost give into temptation but Will realises they are better off apart. Whilst in Africa, Jack realises how much he has changed and how much he misses Beth. He returns to Cardale and they try for a family. Beth soon falls pregnant but happiness turns to tragedy when she loses
7098-459: The reign of Henry VIII . One of the great flowerings of drama in England occurred in the 16th and 17th centuries. Many of these plays were written in verse, particularly iambic pentameter . In addition to Shakespeare, such authors as Christopher Marlowe , Thomas Middleton , and Ben Jonson were prominent playwrights during this period. As in the medieval period , historical plays celebrated
7189-478: The series break and in the opening episode, Jack asks for Beth's hand in marriage. She turns him down in fear that she hasn't done enough with her life, and although they try to stay together, they later split up. Will and Sarah struggle to make their marriage work and move to a smaller house to help their financial worries. They face further problems when their son Tony is involved in a serious fight at school and also when Sarah continues to attract male attention. Chloe
7280-452: The series ends, The Beeches becomes a fund holding practice. Jack and Beth have been married for a year and face problems when they each encounter personal difficulties. Beth is rocked by the death of her best friend Isabel De Gines, and Jack feels victimised when a family he tried to help make a complaint against him. Beth decides she wants to start a family but Jack gets an offer to continue his work in Africa. Despite Beth's pleas Jack leaves
7371-517: The so-called " N-Town " (42). The Second Shepherds' Play from the Wakefield cycle is a farcical story of a stolen sheep that its protagonist , Mak, tries to pass off as his new-born child asleep in a crib; it ends when the shepherds from whom he has stolen are summoned to the Nativity of Jesus . Morality plays (a modern term) emerged as a distinct dramatic form around 1400 and flourished in
7462-532: The story of the loves and jealousies of three puppets. Creative drama includes dramatic activities and games used primarily in educational settings with children. Its roots in the United States began in the early 1900s. Winifred Ward is considered to be the founder of creative drama in education, establishing the first academic use of drama in Evanston, Illinois. . The earliest form of Indian drama
7553-716: The traditional theoretical discourse of genre, Ibsen's work has been described as the culmination of " liberal tragedy ", while Brecht's has been aligned with an historicised comedy. Other important playwrights of the modern era include Antonin Artaud , August Strindberg , Anton Chekhov , Frank Wedekind , Maurice Maeterlinck , Federico García Lorca , Eugene O'Neill , Luigi Pirandello , George Bernard Shaw , Ernst Toller , Vladimir Mayakovsky , Arthur Miller , Tennessee Williams , Jean Genet , Eugène Ionesco , Samuel Beckett , Harold Pinter , Friedrich Dürrenmatt , Dario Fo , Heiner Müller , and Caryl Churchill . Western opera
7644-510: The world) contain no hint of it (although a small number are composed in a form of dialogue ) and the rituals of the Vedic period do not appear to have developed into theatre. The Mahābhāṣya by Patañjali contains the earliest reference to what may have been the seeds of Sanskrit drama. This treatise on grammar from 140 BC provides a feasible date for the beginnings of theatre in India . The major source of evidence for Sanskrit theatre
7735-472: Was based on Euripides ' Hippolytus . Historians do not know who wrote the only extant example of the fabula praetexta (tragedies based on Roman subjects), Octavia , but in former times it was mistakenly attributed to Seneca due to his appearance as a character in the tragedy. Beginning in the early Middle Ages , churches staged dramatised versions of biblical events, known as liturgical dramas , to enliven annual celebrations. The earliest example
7826-623: Was most appreciated for his tragedies and Naevius for his comedies; their successors tended to specialise in one or the other, which led to a separation of the subsequent development of each type of drama. By the beginning of the 2nd century BC, drama was firmly established in Rome and a guild of writers ( collegium poetarum ) had been formed. The Roman comedies that have survived are all fabula palliata (comedies based on Greek subjects) and come from two dramatists: Titus Maccius Plautus (Plautus) and Publius Terentius Afer (Terence). In re-working
7917-403: Was one of their most successful series at the time. Dr Jack Kerruish returns to the UK after setting up a clinic in Africa. He has dreams of being a country GP and heads to Derbyshire for an interview at the Beeches surgery. The Beeches is run by Dr Beth Glover who took the practice over from her father when he died. Beth's partner at the practice is Dr Will Preston who, at this time, would prefer
8008-479: Was probably the first metre gauge railway in the world. Cliff Quarry closed in 1957, though it restarted at the western end until 2010 when it was mothballed. The eastern end was bought by the Tramway Museum in 1959. Hilt's Quarry closed in 1933 and is derelict. For 38 years, Rolls-Royce used it for dumping low-level radioactive waste such as enriched uranium , cobalt-60 and carbon-14 . Following
8099-430: Was running out by the end of the 17th century, as public opinion turned to respectability and seriousness even faster than the playwrights did. At the much-anticipated all-star première in 1700 of The Way of the World , Congreve's first comedy for five years, the audience showed only moderate enthusiasm for that subtle and almost melancholy work. The comedy of sex and wit was about to be replaced by sentimental comedy and
8190-563: Was the Sanskrit drama . Between the 1st century AD and the 10th was a period of relative peace in the history of India during which hundreds of plays were written. With the Islamic conquests that began in the 10th and 11th centuries, theatre was discouraged or forbidden entirely. Later, in an attempt to re-assert indigenous values and ideas, village theatre was encouraged across the subcontinent, developing in various regional languages from
8281-473: Was the standard term for dramas until William Shakespeare 's time—just as its creator was a play-maker rather than a dramatist and the building was a play-house rather than a theatre . The use of "drama" in a more narrow sense to designate a specific type of play dates from the modern era. "Drama" in this sense refers to a play that is neither a comedy nor a tragedy—for example, Zola's Thérèse Raquin (1873) or Chekhov's Ivanov (1887). It
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